Love is in the Air

I arrived back home late Sunday night from my business trip to Europe. The trip went well but I also missed my hubby and kids. Luckily, we were able to Facetime and sent pictures here and there, such as this gem:

While I didn't really struggle with jet-lag this time around, the first few nights I still went very early to bed. 19 hours of traveling from Paris to Nashville can wear one out. But being home with these three is the best of all:

On Wednesday, we celebrated "I Love You Day". A few years ago we decided that Valentine's day is too commercialized and that we'd rather focus on homemade cards and being together than elaborate gifts. 

The kids were all excited about giving us their cards. Even Derrick had to read his card and eat his chocolate heart while still halfway asleep.

Me and my loves before heading to school:

This year's sibling pictures did not turn out as well as last's years:

2017 vs 2018: It's tough being loved!

Amelia wrote her teacher a loving card and gave her a box of chocolates. Elliot brought his teacher, Ms. Williams, flowers. He is such a gentle and caring boy!

Elliot's class also had a small Valentine's party and each kid received a balloon from the teacher. 

In the spur of the moment, Derrick and I decided to go out for lunch to eat some Thai food (my favorite). Nothing fancy but spending alone time with my hubby is so rare and the perfect treat on this special day. 

In the afternoon, Amelia and I put together this new 100 piece color-in jigsaw puzzle while the boys played upstairs. I really enjoyed this time with my girl and while the coloring part still will take us a few more days, it is a fun activity everyone can participate in whenever we feel like it.

For dinner, we pulled out the white table cloths and pretty china and fancy wine glasses for everyone. We ended the day with a delicious home-cooked steak dinner (the lobster tails stayed in the freezer as we were too full from lunch), a nice bottle of red wine I brought from Bordeaux/ kid's champagne and some extra cuddle time on the couch. My gift from my hubby was a dance to a Diana Ross song. We didn't wear shoes or fancy clothing, we slow slow-danced as my husband is still recovering from his surgery but it was still the most thoughtful and perfect gift.

On Thursday night, Amelia's school hosted their annual Science Fair Night. Each student was asked to make a poster (STEM topics were given) and Amelia was excited to finish her first ever science fair project. The first graders had to chose from the Math category and my girl decided to do a poster about 2D and 3D shapes. I helped her by tracing the shapes but she did everything else. 

 So proud of her finished project:

 All the projects from her class:

Now, we are looking forward to a relaxing weekend and some quality time with each other.